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Leverage

Understanding Trading Leverage and Margin.When you first dive into trading, you’ll often hear about leverage and margin . These two concepts are powerful tools that can amplify your profits, but they also come with significant risks. The image you've provided lays out the essentials of leverage and margin: Leverage allows traders to control larger positions, Margin acts as a security deposit, Profit Amplification boosts potential gains, and Risk Amplification warns of increased losses. In this article, we’ll break down these terms and explore how leverage and margin work, their advantages and risks, and what to consider before using them in your trading strategy. What is Leverage in Trading? Leverage is essentially a loan provided by your broker that allows you to open larger trading positions than your actual account balance would otherwise allow. It’s a tool that can multiply the value of your capital, giving you the potential to make more money from market movements without needing to invest large sums of your own money. Think of leverage as “financial assistance.” With leverage, even a small amount of capital can control a larger position in the market. This can lead to amplified profits if the trade goes your way. However, it’s a double-edged sword; leverage can also lead to amplified losses if the trade moves against you. Example of Trading with Leverage Suppose you have €100 in your trading account and your broker offers a leverage of 1:5. This means you can control a position worth €500 with your €100 investment. If the market moves in your favor, your profits will be calculated based on the €500 position, not just the €100 you originally invested. However, if the market moves against you, your losses will also be based on the larger amount. What is Margin in Trading? Margin is the amount of money you must set aside as collateral to open a leveraged trade. When you use leverage, the broker requires a deposit to cover potential losses—this is called margin. Margin essentially acts as a security deposit, ensuring that you can cover losses if the trade doesn’t go as planned. Margin is usually expressed as a percentage of the total trade size. For example, if a broker requires a 5% margin to open a position, and you want to open a €1,000 trade, you would need to deposit €50 as margin. How Does Margin Work? Margin works together with leverage. The margin required depends on the leverage ratio offered by the broker. For instance, with a 1:10 leverage, you’d only need a 10% margin to open a position, while a 1:20 leverage would require a 5% margin. If the market moves against your position significantly, your margin level can drop. If it falls too low, the broker may issue a **margin call**, requesting additional funds to maintain the trade. If you don’t add funds, the broker might close your position to prevent further losses, which could lead to a loss of the initial margin amount. How Does Leveraged Trading Work? Leveraged trading involves borrowing capital from the broker to increase the size of your trades. This allows you to open larger positions and potentially gain higher profits from favorable market movements. Here’s a simplified process of how it works: 1. Deposit Margin: You set aside a portion of your own funds (margin) as a security deposit. 2. Leverage Ratio Applied: The broker provides you with additional capital based on the leverage ratio, increasing your trading power. 3. Open Larger Positions: You can now open larger trades than you could with just your capital. 4. Profit or Loss Magnified: Any profit or loss from the trade is amplified, as it’s based on the larger position rather than just your initial capital. While leverage doesn’t change the direction of your trades, it affects how much you gain or lose on each trade. That’s why it’s essential to understand both the potential for profit amplification and the risk amplification that leverage brings. The Benefits and Risks of Using Leverage Benefits of Leverage - Profit Amplification: With leverage, you can control larger trades, which means any favorable movement in the market can lead to greater profits. - Capital Efficiency: Leverage allows you to gain exposure to the markets without needing to invest a large amount of your own money upfront. - Flexibility in Trading: Leveraged trading gives traders more flexibility to diversify their positions and take advantage of multiple opportunities in the market. Risks of Leverage - Risk Amplification: Just as leverage can amplify profits, it also amplifies losses. If a trade moves against you, your losses can be substantial, even exceeding your initial investment. - Margin Calls: If the market moves significantly against your leveraged position, you may face a margin call, requiring you to add more funds to your account to keep the position open. - Rapid Account Depletion: High leverage means that small market moves can have a big impact on your account. Without careful management, you could deplete your account balance quickly. Important Considerations for Leveraged Trading 1. Understand the Leverage Ratio: Different brokers offer various leverage ratios, such as 1:5, 1:10, or even 1:100. Choose a leverage ratio that aligns with your risk tolerance. Higher leverage ratios mean higher potential profits but also higher potential losses. 2. Know Your Margin Requirements: Always be aware of the margin requirements for your trades. Brokers may close your positions if your margin level drops too low, so it’s essential to monitor your margin balance regularly. 3. Risk Management is Key: Use risk management strategies like stop-loss orders to limit potential losses on each trade. Don’t risk more than a small percentage of your account balance on any single trade. 4. Avoid Overleveraging: One of the biggest mistakes new traders make is using too much leverage. Start with a lower leverage ratio until you’re more comfortable with the risks involved in leveraged trading. 5. Only Use Leverage if You Understand It: Leveraged trading is suitable primarily for experienced investors who understand the market and the risks involved. If you’re new to trading, practice with a demo account to learn how leverage works before applying it in a live account. Final Considerations Leverage and margin are powerful tools in trading that can amplify profits, but they come with considerable risk. Using leverage wisely and understanding margin requirements are essential to avoid unnecessary losses and protect your account. While the prospect of profit amplification is attractive, traders should always remember that leveraged trading is a double-edged sword—it can lead to significant gains, but it can also result in rapid account depletion if not managed carefully. To summarize: - Leverage allows you to control larger trades with a small investment, multiplying both potential profits and potential losses. - Margin is the deposit required to open a leveraged trade and acts as a security against potential losses. - Use leverage responsibly and only after understanding the risks involved. Leverage can be a valuable tool in trading if used wisely, so make sure to educate yourself, practice with a demo account, and always approach leveraged trading with caution.
FX:XAUUSDEducation
by pow_removetheguesswork
Trading &/or GamblingThe difference between trading and gambling. This article will shine a light on the most frequent mistakes that traders make. These mistakes blur the thin line between trading and gambling. Many people have spoken on this topic, but we truly believe that it is still not sufficient, and traders should be better educated on how to avoid gambling behaviour and emotional outbursts. When we speak about trading versus gambling, we define gambling as the act of making irrational, emotional and quick decisions. Most of the time, these decisions are based on greed, and sometimes fear of the trader. Let’s dive into the exact problems we have personally experienced thousands of times, and want to help others avoid. 1 ♠ Bad Money Management This is something that everyone has heard at least once, but seems to naively ignore in the hopes that it is not that important . It is the most important . When a trader enters trades, it is exceptionally alluring to enter with all of their money, or close to all of it. In gambling terms, that is going “All in”, or “All or nothing”. As a rule of thumb, both traders and gamblers should only place or bet money that they can afford to lose. Thankfully, at least in trading one can limit their loss for that specific trade, by placing a stop loss or exiting before total liquidation. In Poker, you can’t fold when you are “All in” and take a portion of your money back. However, that does not mean entering trades with full capital, even with a stop-loss, is going to give you exponential returns and feed your greed for profits. Traders should enter positions with a small amount of their full capital, to limit the damage from losses. Yes, you also limit the possibility that you win a few trades in a row with all of your money and… There goes the greed we mentioned. The “globally perfect” percent of equity you need to enter trades to reach that balance between being too cautious and too greedy does not exist. There are methods, like the Kelly Criterion, as described in our previous Idea (see related ideas below), that help you optimize your money management. Always ask yourself, “How much can I afford to lose?”. Aim for a balanced approach. This way you can position yourself within the market for a long and a good time, not just for a few lucky wins. Greedy money management, or lack thereof, ends in liquidations and heartbreak. 2 ♣ The Use of Leverage Anyone who has tried using leverage, knows how easy it is to lose your position (or full) capital in seconds. Using leverage is mainly sold to retail traders as a tool for them to loan money from the exchange or broker and bet with it. It is extremely profitable for institutions, since it multiplies the fees you pay them ten to one hundred-fold. In our opinion, leverage isn’t something that should be entirely avoided. However, it should be limited as much as possible. We cannot deny that using 1-5x leverage can be beneficial for people with small accounts and a thirst for growth, however as the leverage grows, the more of a gambler you become. We often see people share profits made using 20+ times leverage. Some even use ridiculous leverages within the range of 50-125x. If you are doing that, do you truly trust your entry so much that you believe the market won’t move 1% against your decision and liquidate you immediately? At this point, the gambling aspect should be evident, and it goes without saying that you should not touch this “125x Golden Apple”, like Eve in the Garden of Eden. Especially when you see a snake-exchange promote it. If you use a low amount of leverage, and grow your account to the point where you don’t need it for your personal goals in terms of monetary profit. You should consider stopping the use of it, and at least know you’ll be able to sleep at night. 3 ♥ Always Being In A Position Always being either long or short leads to addiction and becomes gambling. While we don’t have scientific proof of that, we can give you our own experience as an example. To be a profitable trader, you do not need to always be in a position, or chase every single move on the market. You need to develop the ability just to sit back and watch, analyse and make conscious decisions. Let the bad opportunities trick someone else, while you patiently wait for all your pre-defined conditions to give you a real signal. When you think of trading, remember that the market has a trend the minority (around 20-30%) of the time. If you are always in a position, this means that 70-80% of the time you are hoping that something will happen in your favour. That, by definition, is gambling. Another aspect, that we have experienced a lot, is that while you remain in a position, especially if you have used leverage, you are constantly paying your exchange fees. You can be in a short position for a week and pay daily fees which only damage your equity, and therefore margin ratio. So why not just sit back, be patient and define some concrete rules for entering and exiting? Avoid risky situations, and let the market bring the profits whenever it decides to. 4 ♦ Chasing Huge Profits Hold your horses, Warren Buffett. Through blood, sweat and tears, we can promise you that you cannot seriously expect to make 100% every month, no matter what magical backtesting or statistics you are calculating your future fortune on. Moreover, you will realise that consistently making 2-5% a month is an excellent career for a trader. Yes, the markets can be good friends for a while, you may stumble into a bull-run and start making double-digit profits from a trade from time to time. Double-digit losses will also follow if you lose your sight in a cloud of euphoria and greed. Many times, you can follow the “profit is profit” principle, and exit at a small win if the risk of loss is increasing. 5 ♠ Being Sentimental Towards Given Assets You may have a fondness for Bitcoin and Tesla, and we understand that because we too have our favourites. Perhaps you’re deeply attached to the vision, community and purpose of certain projects. On the flip side, there may be projects that you completely despise and hope their prices plummet to zero. What you personally like and dislike, should not interfere with your work as a trader. Introducing such strong emotions into your trading will lead you into a loop of irrational decisions. You may find yourself asking, “Why isn’t this price going parabolic with how good the project is?”. This sounds, from personal experience, quite similar to sitting at a Roulette table and asking: “Why does it keep landing on red when I’ve been constantly betting black? It has to change any moment now”. First and foremost, you may be completely wrong, but most importantly – it could go parabolic, but trying to predict the exact time or expecting it to happen immediately and placing your “bet” on that is again, gambling. Don’t get attached to projects when trading. If you are an investor who just wants to hold their shares in an awesome company, or cryptocurrency, that is perfectly fine, hold them as much as you want. The key is to make an important distinction between trading and investing, and to base your strategy on the hand that the market provides you with. 6 ♣ Putting Your Eggs In One Basket We all have heard of diversification, but how you approach it is crucial. A trader should always have their capital spread between at least a few assets. Furthermore, the trading strategy for each asset must be distinct, or in other words – they should not rely on the same entry and exit conditions for different assets. The markets behave differently for each asset, and you cannot be profitable with some magical indicator or strategy with a “one-size-fits-all” style. Divide your trades into different pairs and asset classes, and study each market individually to properly diversify. Manage the equity you put into each trade carefully! Conclusion The takeaway we want you as a reader to have from this article is that trading without consciously controlling your emotions inevitably leads to great loss and most importantly, a lot of stress. We hate stress. Trading and life in general is exponentially harder when you are under stress. Control your risk, sleep easy, and let the market bring you profits. Reaching this level of Zen will not be easy, but it is inevitable. Be happy when you make a profit, no matter how small or big. A lot of small profits and proper money management complete the vision you have of a successful business. Ultimately, trading is just that – work, not gambling or a pastime activity. Treat it as work and always remember to never rely on luck. The advice we’ve included here is written by a few experienced gamblers… Oops, I meant traders 😉. We hope that some of the lessons we’ve had to painstakingly learn through trial and error can now be shared with those who are interested. Of course, none of this constitutes investment advice. It’s merely a friendly heads-up.
Education
by sofex
Mastering CFD Trading: A Comprehensive Beginner's GuideContracts for Difference (CFDs) have garnered significant attention as derivative products that offer traders the ability to speculate on the price movements of various assets without the need to own them physically. These financial instruments emerged in the latter part of the 20th century, propelled by the advent of the internet revolution, which revolutionized trading by facilitating swift and convenient short-term transactions. CFDs have since become an integral part of the repertoire offered by prominent brokers, providing traders with enhanced leverage and access to an extensive range of markets that encompass stocks, indices, currencies, and commodities. This broad market coverage has contributed to the popularity and widespread adoption of CFDs among traders seeking diverse investment opportunities. The historical roots of CFDs can be traced back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was during this period that derivative trading witnessed significant advancements, driven by technological progress and regulatory changes. The introduction of electronic trading platforms and the availability of real-time market data allowed traders to execute trades swiftly and efficiently, leading to the development of CFDs as a viable financial instrument. The operational mechanics of CFDs are relatively straightforward. When trading a CFD, the trader enters into a contract with a broker, mirroring the price movements of the underlying asset. This contract stipulates that the trader will pay or receive the difference in price between the opening and closing positions of the CFD. If the price of the underlying asset moves in the trader's favor, they stand to make a profit. Conversely, if the price moves against their position, they may incur a loss. One of the key advantages of trading CFDs is the ability to utilize leverage. Leverage allows traders to control a larger position in the market with a smaller initial investment. This amplifies potential gains, but it is important to note that it also magnifies potential losses. Traders should exercise caution and employ risk management strategies when using leverage in CFD trading. Furthermore, CFDs offer traders the flexibility to profit from both rising and falling markets. Through a process known as short-selling, traders can speculate on price declines and potentially profit from downward market movements. This ability to take both long and short positions provides traders with opportunities to capitalize on market trends and volatility. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that CFD trading carries inherent risks. Due to the leverage involved, losses can exceed the initial investment, potentially resulting in significant financial losses. Moreover, CFD trading is subject to market volatility, and sudden price movements can lead to rapid and substantial losses. Throughout this comprehensive article , we shall delve into the historical backdrop of CFDs, elucidate their operational mechanics, and present an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages associated with trading these financial instruments. History Of CFD: Towards the conclusion of the 20th century, the landscape of exchange trading underwent a profound transformation, thanks to the advent of the Internet. This revolutionary technology empowered traders to engage in rapid short-term trades with unparalleled ease. Consequently, intraday trading emerged as a prominent trend, and astute brokers swiftly recognized the burgeoning demand for this segment among individual traders. However, a significant predicament persisted within the trading realm - exchanges were highly specialized and compartmentalized. Currency exchanges, stock exchanges, and futures exchanges operated as distinct entities, precluding traders from capitalizing on opportunities across multiple asset classes. For instance, a trader operating with a currency broker lacked the means to profit from futures or stocks. While opening multiple accounts with different companies was a possible solution, it was far from optimal. Furthermore, another obstacle loomed large: high leverage was imperative for generating profits through short-term transactions, yet traditional stock exchanges were averse to the risks associated with margin trading. In response to these challenges, visionaries at UBS Investment Bank conceptualized a new trading instrument known as the contract for difference (CFD). This innovative derivative allowed traders to profit from the price fluctuations of various assets without the need to physically own them or conduct transactions on the underlying exchanges. Traders could now conveniently engage in trading shares, oil, and other commodities using a single broker. Additionally, CFDs provided the desired leverage for short-term trading, overcoming the limitations imposed by traditional stock exchanges. Over time, CFDs became widely available, offered by popular brokers operating in diverse markets, including the forex market. Presently, this versatile financial instrument is successfully utilized by both short-term traders and long-term investors, catering to a broad spectrum of trading styles and planning horizons. The flexibility and accessibility of CFDs have made them an indispensable tool in the arsenal of market participants seeking to capitalize on price movements and maximize their trading potential. CFD Leverage Explained: One of the notable features of CFD trading is the availability of margin trading, which enables traders to borrow funds from their brokers. This concept is closely tied to the notion of leverage, which has a significant impact on the trading process. Leverage allows traders to control larger positions in the market with a smaller amount of their own capital. To illustrate the concept, let's consider an example. Suppose a trader utilizes a 1:50 leverage. This means that with just $1,000 of their own funds, they can open a position equivalent to $50,000. In this scenario, the borrowed funds provided by the broker amplify the trader's purchasing power, enabling them to access larger market positions. The level of leverage available in CFD trading varies depending on the underlying asset being traded. For instance, when trading shares, the leverage typically ranges up to 1:20. On the other hand, for commodities like oil, leverage can often reach as high as 1:100. It is important to note that when comparing leverage in CFD trading to leverage in forex currency pairs, the ratios may appear different. A 1:20 leverage in CFDs might seem relatively lower when contrasted with the leverage commonly available in forex trading. However, it is crucial to consider these ratios within the context of their respective markets. In traditional stock markets, equity leverage is typically limited and rarely exceeds 1:2. This means that traders in those markets have less flexibility in terms of controlling larger positions with a smaller amount of capital. In contrast, CFDs provide traders with significantly higher leverage, allowing them to amplify their potential gains and losses. It is important to approach leverage in CFD trading with caution and exercise risk management strategies. While leverage can magnify profits, it also amplifies potential losses. Traders should be mindful of the increased risk associated with higher leverage levels and consider their risk tolerance and trading strategies accordingly. Comparing leverage ratios across different markets provides insights into the varying degrees of flexibility and risk exposure available to traders. Understanding and utilizing leverage effectively is an essential aspect of CFD trading, enabling traders to optimize their trading strategies and potentially enhance their profitability, while remaining cognizant of the associated risks. How CFDs Work: Let's break down the scenario provided to understand the implications of trading CFDs compared to traditional stock ownership. Assuming the Ask price per share is $171.23, a trader purchasing 100 shares would need to consider additional costs such as commissions and fees. In a traditional brokerage account with a 50% credit on margin, this transaction would require a minimum of $1,263 in available funds. However, with CFD brokers, the margin requirements are typically much lower. In the past, a 5% margin was common, which would amount to $126.30 for this trade. When opening a CFD position, the trader will immediately experience a loss equal to the size of the spread at the time of the trade. For example, if the spread is 5 cents, the stock price must rise by 5 cents for the position to reach the breakeven level. If the trader owned the stock directly, they would make a 5 cents profit. However, it's important to consider that owning the stock directly would entail paying a commission, resulting in higher overall costs. Now, let's consider the scenario where the offer price of the stock reaches $25.76. In a traditional brokerage account, positions could be closed at a profit of $50, resulting in a 3.95% return on the initial investment of $1,263. However, in the case of CFDs, when the price reaches the same level on the national exchange, the bid price on the CFD may be slightly lower, let's say $25.74. Consequently, the profit from trading CFDs would be lower since the trader must exit the trade at the bid price. Additionally, the spread in CFD trading is typically wider compared to regular markets. In this example, the CFD trader would earn approximately $48, resulting in a 38% return on the initial investment of $126.30. It's worth noting that these figures are specific to the example provided and may vary depending on various factors, including the specific brokerage, market conditions, and the pricing dynamics of the underlying asset. Why Trade CFDs / Pros And Cons Of Trading CFDs Indeed, one of the significant advantages of trading CFDs is the expanded range of tradable instruments compared to the classical forex market. While the forex market primarily deals with currencies, CFDs provide traders with the opportunity to trade a wide array of assets. Most brokers now offer CFDs on various instruments such as gold, stocks, and stock indices, greatly diversifying the available trading opportunities. However, it is important to note that CFDs are not a direct replacement for the underlying assets. Although the price of a CFD contract reflects the price movements of the underlying instrument, there may be differences in the actual returns. These differences can be attributed to factors such as spreads, commissions, and other costs associated with CFD trading. Speaking of commissions, it is crucial to consider that CFD commissions may differ from those applied to the underlying asset. This distinction becomes particularly relevant in longer-term trading scenarios. Traders need to carefully evaluate the commission structure and any associated fees when assessing the overall costs of trading CFDs. Now let's delve into the main advantages and disadvantages of trading CFDs: Pros of CFD Trading: 1 ) Expanded Market Access: CFDs provide access to a wide range of markets, including stocks, commodities, indices, and more, allowing traders to diversify their portfolios and capitalize on various asset classes. 2 ) Leverage and Margin Trading: CFDs offer the potential for higher leverage, allowing traders to control larger positions with a smaller initial investment. This amplifies potential profits (as well as losses) and can enhance trading opportunities. 3 ) Ability to Profit from Both Rising and Falling Markets: CFDs enable traders to take advantage of both upward and downward price movements. Through short-selling, traders can speculate on price declines and potentially profit from falling markets. Cons of CFD Trading: 1 ) Counterparty Risk: When trading CFDs, traders are exposed to counterparty risk, as they enter into contracts with the broker rather than owning the underlying assets. If the broker encounters financial difficulties or fails, it can impact the trader's positions and funds. 2 ) Potential for Higher Costs: CFD trading may involve additional costs such as spreads, commissions, and overnight financing charges. These costs can impact overall profitability, especially for longer-term trades. 3 ) Market Volatility and Risk: CFDs are subject to market volatility, and sudden price movements can result in rapid and substantial losses. The use of leverage in CFD trading can amplify both gains and losses, making risk management crucial. It is essential for traders to consider these pros and cons when deciding to engage in CFD trading. Adequate risk management strategies and a thorough understanding of the underlying markets and associated costs are essential for successful and informed trading decisions. Risks Of Trading CFDs: Trading CFDs (Contracts for Difference) involves inherent risks that traders should be aware of before engaging in such activities. Understanding these risks is essential for making informed decisions and implementing appropriate risk management strategies. Here are some of the key risks associated with CFD trading: Leverage Risk: CFDs allow traders to access larger market positions with a smaller initial investment. While leverage can amplify potential profits, it also magnifies losses. Traders need to be cautious and manage leverage effectively to avoid significant financial setbacks. Market Risk: CFDs are directly linked to the price movements of underlying assets, which can be influenced by various factors, including economic indicators, news events, and market sentiment. Rapid price fluctuations can lead to substantial losses, especially if positions are not managed appropriately. Counterparty Risk: When trading CFDs, traders enter into a contractual agreement with the CFD provider. This exposes them to counterparty risk, which refers to the possibility of the provider failing to fulfill its obligations. It is crucial to choose a reputable and regulated CFD provider to minimize this risk. Operational Risk: CFD trading platforms can experience technical issues, such as system outages or errors, which may prevent traders from executing trades or managing positions effectively. Traders should be prepared for such operational risks and have contingency plans in place. Liquidity Risk: In certain cases, CFD markets may lack sufficient liquidity, meaning there is a limited number of buyers and sellers. This can make it challenging to enter or exit positions at desired prices, particularly during volatile market conditions. Traders should be cautious when trading illiquid CFD markets. Hidden Costs: Some CFD brokers may impose additional fees and charges, such as overnight financing fees or spread mark-ups. These hidden costs can reduce profitability over time, and traders should carefully review the fee structure of their chosen CFD provider. To mitigate these risks, traders are advised to implement risk management techniques, including setting stop-loss orders to limit potential losses, conducting thorough market analysis, and continuously monitoring positions. It is also crucial to conduct due diligence when selecting a CFD provider, ensuring they are regulated and offer transparent pricing structures and reliable customer support. By understanding and effectively managing these risks, traders can enhance their chances of success and navigate the complexities of CFD trading more confidently. Choosing A Broker For CFD Trading: When selecting a broker for CFD trading, certain parameters take precedence. These include: 1 ) Reliability and Reputation: When it comes to CFD trading, the importance of a broker's reliability and reputation cannot be overstated. Given the instrument's relative lack of popularity, there may be instances of limited liquidity, which increases the temptation for unethical practices such as manipulating charts or altering quotes. It is crucial to choose a broker known for their trustworthiness and positive reputation. 2 ) Variety of CFDs for Trading: It is advisable to thoroughly examine the broker's website and review the comprehensive list of available contracts. Ensure that the list includes the specific CFDs you intend to trade. Having access to a wide range of CFD options allows you to diversify your portfolio and pursue various trading opportunities. 3 ) Contract Specifications: Identify the CFDs in the broker's list that you plan to trade frequently. Pay attention to the contract specifications, including spreads, commissions, and swaps, as they should align with your trading style and objectives. If you require high leverage, verify the leverage availability for each CFD category. By carefully considering these parameters, you can make an informed decision when choosing a broker for CFD trading. This will contribute to a more satisfactory trading experience and help you align your trading strategy with your goals. Conclusion: Contracts for Difference (CFDs) provide traders with a gateway to a diverse range of popular exchange-traded assets. Through a single CFD broker, traders can engage in trading activities involving stocks, indices, and even cryptocurrencies. The key to achieving success in CFD trading lies in the trader's level of proficiency in understanding the intricacies of specific instruments. The most favorable outcomes are typically attained by individuals who concentrate their efforts on a particular asset class or even a specific instrument within that class. By acquiring comprehensive knowledge and a deep understanding of the various factors that influence prices, traders can surpass market performance and reap the rewards they rightfully deserve. This focused approach enhances their ability to make informed decisions, seize profitable opportunities, and maximize their potential gains in the CFD market.
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by FOREXN1
12
Exploring Leverage in Gold and Forex Trading 💰 Leverage is an essential tool in trading gold and forex. It enables traders to control larger positions with minimum initial capital. However, it also carries a high degree of risk as one can experience significant losses if the market moves against them. Here are some things to consider about leverage in trading gold and forex: • Leverage is the ratio of the amount one can borrow and the amount of capital invested. For instance, if a trader chooses a 50:1 leverage, then they can trade up to 50 times more than their initial capital. • While leverage allows traders to profit immensely from small market moves, it also magnifies losses if the market goes in the opposite direction. • Even experienced traders can fall prey to leverage's pitfalls, so it's crucial to understand the risks and manage them effectively. • Traders must calculate their risk-reward ratio before initiating a trade that involves leverage to help minimize losses and improve returns. • Stop-loss orders can help traders to manage their risk in case of unexpected market movements. • It is essential to have a solid trading plan that includes entry and exit strategies, trading goals, and risk management strategies. • Traders should choose a broker that offers favorable margin requirements and instant trade execution. In conclusion, leverage can be a useful tool in trading gold and forex, but it is not suitable for everyone. Traders must carefully evaluate their risk tolerance and have a well-defined trading plan before employing leverage. Please, like this post and subscribe to our tradingview page!👍
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by EliteTradingSignals
4
LOT SIZE, PIPS AND LEVERAGE WHAT IS LEVERAGE Leverage is a tool that increases the purchasing power of the trader’s deposit. The mechanism is funded by the broker, or rather the liquidity provider working with the broker. The leverage mechanism is very simple. The higher the leverage is, the more funds we can invest in trading. Simply put, leverage is kind of a bank loan. But it is much cheaper, and the borrowers usually risk only their own funds on the account. WHAT IS A PIP A pip (percentage in point) is the minimum unit of measurement to express the change in value between two currencies in the Forex market. In currency pairs, 1 pip is often one hundred-thousandth, that is, the fifth decimal place in a currency quote (0.00001). For the derivatives, one pip is usually one hundredth (0.01). Simply put, a pip is the last decimal place in a quote. The pip cost is directly affected by the lot size. LOT SIZE IS The lot size is the number of currency units expressed in the quote currency that compose one whole contract. The quote currency is the currency that used to value the asset price. In the EUR/USD currency pair, the base currency is the EUR. Common lot types are: Standard,Mini-lot (0,1 of a standard one), Micro-lot (0,01 of a standard one), Nano-lot (0,001 of a standard one). LOT AND LEVERAGE RELATION The relation between these two concepts is that both these figures affect the total trade cost. The difference is that this influence is made in opposite directions. The larger is the lot size, the larger is the transaction volume, and, consequently, its value (I mean the security deposit you must have to open the position). However, the higher is the leverage, the less money is required for the trade margin and therefore, the less is the trade cost. CONCLUSION Forex lot size and leverage are the basic concepts for every forex trader. It is of key importance to understand them. Experiment with the calculator and the table to understand how the lot size and leverage affect your position size in particular and your trading in general. This practice will help you develop your own strategy and determine the “best” leverage for your trading goals. Dear followers, let me know, what topic interests you for new educational posts?
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by SignalProvider
11
LOT SIZE, PIPS AND LEVERAGE WHAT IS LEVERAGE Leverage is a tool that increases the purchasing power of the trader’s deposit. The mechanism is funded by the broker, or rather the liquidity provider working with the broker. The leverage mechanism is very simple. The higher the leverage is, the more funds we can invest in trading. Simply put, leverage is kind of a bank loan. But it is much cheaper, and the borrowers usually risk only their own funds on the account. WHAT IS A PIP A pip (percentage in point) is the minimum unit of measurement to express the change in value between two currencies in the Forex market. In currency pairs, 1 pip is often one hundred-thousandth, that is, the fifth decimal place in a currency quote (0.00001). For the derivatives, one pip is usually one hundredth (0.01). Simply put, a pip is the last decimal place in a quote. The pip cost is directly affected by the lot size. LOT SIZE IS The lot size is the number of currency units expressed in the quote currency that compose one whole contract. The quote currency is the currency that used to value the asset price. In the EUR/USD currency pair, the base currency is the EUR. Common lot types are: Standard,Mini-lot (0,1 of a standard one), Micro-lot (0,01 of a standard one), Nano-lot (0,001 of a standard one). LOT AND LEVERAGE RELATION The relation between these two concepts is that both these figures affect the total trade cost. The difference is that this influence is made in opposite directions. The larger is the lot size, the larger is the transaction volume, and, consequently, its value (I mean the security deposit you must have to open the position). However, the higher is the leverage, the less money is required for the trade margin and therefore, the less is the trade cost. CONCLUSION Forex lot size and leverage are the basic concepts for every forex trader. It is of key importance to understand them. Experiment with the calculator and the table to understand how the lot size and leverage affect your position size in particular and your trading in general. This practice will help you develop your own strategy and determine the “best” leverage for your trading goals. I Hope you guys learned something new today✅ Wish you all Best Of Luck👍 😇And may the odds be always in your favor😇 Do you like this post? Do you want more articles like that?
Education
by ProSignalsFx
6
How Leverage Really Works | Margin Trading Explained Leveraged trading allows even small retail traders to make money trading different financial markets. With a borrowed capital from your broker, you can empower your trading positions. The broker gives you a multiplier x10, x50, x100 (or other) referring to the number of times your trading positions are enhanced. Brokers offer leverage at a cost based on the amount of borrowed funds you’re using and they charge you per each day that you maintain a leveraged position open. For example, let's take EURUSD pair. Let's buy Euro against the Dollar with the hope that the exchange rate will rise. Buying that on spot with 1.195 ask price and selling that on 1.23 price we can make a profit by selling the same amount of EURUSD back to the broker. With x50 leverage, our return will be 50 times scaled. With the leverage, we can benefit even on small price fluctuations not having a huge margin. ❗️Remember that leverage will also multiply the potential downside risk in case if the trade does not play out. In case of a bearish continuation on EURUSD , the leveraged loss will be paid from our margin to the broker. For that reason, it is so important to set a stop loss and calculate the risks before the trading position is opened. Let me know, traders, what do you want to learn in the next educational post?
Education
by VasilyTrader
10
Why leverage size is not matterHello dear community. Each trader is a part of discussion about leverages. Some of them say that it's risky, another just playing in casino with 50x. But why leverages is not matter, and how do not lose all deposit? Read below. Firstly, you need to know about 2 things. Support line Risk management Support line I am confident that you know about support line a lot of info, but just reminder. Support line is a zone when price jump back multiply time and coin start growing again. Support line can be detected on each timeframe. But for our case we need to see on 1D and 4H timeframe. Risk management If you are trading without risk management, you will be bankrupt. However, what is that? Risk management is the amount of funds in cash or percentage that you can risk in some trade. For example: You trade BTCUSDT with deposit 1000 USDT. Before you make a trade, you need to decide how many USDT or % will be your risk. The funds that will be lost in the worst scenario of trade. It can be 3-5% for start. In USDT, it will be 30 - 50 USDT. What is next? Next, you should calculate your position size. I suggest using next formula: Position size = Risk /(Buy level - Stop loss). It means if closer to stop-loss you buy order the bigger position you have. Buy level Current chart has support zone on 22546-22261. I suggest split your buy order on few slices on this zone. Stop loss I usually set stop loss behind this zone, in current example my stop at 22222 In this case, the formula will be: 50/(22403,5 - 22222) = 0.276 BTC is your position with risk in 5%. In this example, will be ~6X leverage. But if increase risk until 10%, leverage will be 12X. Trading is not about casino, is about math. Good luck and have good trades!
Education
by JoFiBaTaL
EXPLAINED: Gearing and how it worksThere is one tool with trading, which you can accelerate your portfolio, compared to with investing. I’m talking about Gearing (or leverage). To wrap our head around this concept, here’s a more relatable life example. When you buy a house for R1,000,000, it is very similar to trading derivatives. Initially, the homeowner most probably won’t have the full R1,000,000 to buy the house with just one purchase. Instead, they’ll sign a bond agreement, make a 10% deposit (R100,000), borrow the rest from the bank and be exposed to the full purchase price of the home. This is a similar concept for when you trade with gearing. Gearing is a tool which allows you to pay a small amount of money (deposit) in order to gain control and be exposed to a larger sum of money. You’ll simply buy a contract of the underlying share, use borrowed money to trade with and be exposed to the full share’s value. Let’s simplify this with a more relatable life example: How gearing works with CFDs Let’s say you want to buy 1,000 shares of Jimbo’s Group Ltd at R50 per share as you believe the share price is going to go up to R60 in the next three months. You’ll need to pay the entire R50,000 to own the full value of the 1,000 shares (R50 X 1,000 shares). In three months’ time, if the share price hits R60 you’ll then be exposed to R60,000 (1,000 shares X R60 per share). Note: I’ve excluded trading costs for simplicity purposes throughout this section If you sold all your shares, you’ll be up R10,000 profit (R60,000 – R50,000). The problem is you had to pay the full R50,000 to be exposed to those 1,000 shares. When you trade a geared instrument like CFDs, you won’t ever have to worry about paying the full value of a share again. A CFD is an unlisted over-the-counter financial derivative contract between two parties to exchange the price difference of the opening and closing price of the underlying asset. Let’s break that down into an easy-to-understand definition. A CFD (Contract For Difference) is an Unlisted (You don’t trade through an exchange) Over The Counter (Via a private dealer or market maker) Financial derivative contract (Value from the underlying market) Between two parties (The buyer and seller) to Exchange the Price difference of the opening and closing price of the Underlying asset (Instrument the CFD price is based on) Let’s use an example of a company called Jimbo’s Group Ltd, who offers the function to trade CFDs. The initial margin (deposit) requirement is 10% of the share’s value. This means, you’ll pay R5.00 per CFD instead of R50, and you’ll be exposed to the full value of the share. To calculate the gearing (or leverage ratio) you’ll simply divide what you’ll be exposed to over the initial margin deposit. Here’s the gearing calculation on a per CFD basis: Gearing = (Exposure per share ÷ Initial deposit per CFD) = (R50 per share ÷ R5.00 per CFD) = 10 times gearing This means two things… #1. For every one Jimbo’s Group Ltd CFD you buy for R5.00 per CFD, you’ll be exposed to 10 times more (the full value of the share). #2. For every one cent the share rises or falls, you’ll gain or lose 10 cents. To have the exposure of the full 1,000 shares of Jimbo’s Group Ltd, you’ll simply need to buy 1,000 CFDs. This will require a deposit of R5,000 (1,000 CFDs X R5.00 per CFD). With a 10% margin deposit (R5,000), you’d have the exact same exposure as you’d have with a conventional R50,000 shares’ investment. Here is the calculation you can use to work out the exposure of the trade. Overall trade exposure = (Total initial margin X Gearing) = (R5,000 X 10 times) = R50,000 With an initial deposit of R5,000 and with a gearing of 10 times, you’ll be exposed to the full R50,000 worth of shares. In three months’ if the share price reaches R60, your new overall trade exposure will be R60,000 worth of shares (1,000 shares X R60 per share). If you sold all of your positions, you’d bank a R10,000 gain (R60,000 – R50,000). But remember, you only deposited R5,000 into your trade and not the full R50,000. This is the beauty of trading geared derivative instruments. If you want any other technical trading or fundamental term explained, please comment below. I'm happy to help. Trade well, live free Timon MATI Trader Feel free to follow my socials below.
JSE:J200Education
by Timonrosso
What Every Trader Should Know About Margin Margin can be a powerful tool to leverage your investment returns or to finance purchases apart from your portfolio. Margin is an extension of credit from a brokerage firm using your own eligible securities as collateral. Most traders typically use margin as a means to purchase additional securities, but there are other uses too. Interest is charged on the borrowed funds for the period of time that the loan is outstanding. Benefits of a Margin Trading Account: Use the cash or securities in your account as leverage to increase your buying power. Get the lowest market margin loan interest rates of any broker. Diversify trading strategies with short selling, options and futures contracts, or currency trading. Borrow against a margin account at any time and repay the loan on your own schedule. Margin borrowing is only for experienced investors with high risk tolerance. You may lose more than your initial investment. Before trading on margin, understand the following risks: Trading losses may be greater than the value of the initial investment Leveraged investments create a greater potential risk of loss Additional costs from margin interest charges Potential margin calls or liquidation of securities Hey traders, let me know what subject do you want to dive in in the next post?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by TopTradingSignals
14
What is margin trading & How does it work? Margin trading is when you pay only a certain percentage, or margin, of your investment cost, while borrowing the rest of the money you need from your broker. Margin trading allows you to profit from the price fluctuations of assets that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford. Note that trading on margin can improve gains, but increases the risk and size of any potential losses. But what is the margin in trading? There are two types of margins traders should be aware of. The money you need to open a position is your required margin. It’s defined by the amount of leverage you are using, which is represented in a leverage ratio. There are also limits on keeping a margin trade running, which is based on your overall maintenance margin – the amount that needs to be covered by equity (overall account value). Brokers require you to cover your margin by equity to mitigate risk. If you don’t have enough money to cover potential losses, you may be put on a margin call, where brokers would ask you to top up your account or close your loss-making trades. If your trading position continues to worsen you will face a margin closeout. Hey traders, let me know what subject do you want to dive in in the next post?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by TopTradingSignals
6
The Truth About LeverageIntro Trading with leverage simply means borrowing money to put on a trade. Leverage is one of the many tools available for traders who seek to generate higher gains on their capital. Brokers have strict rules that govern the use of leverage, but this article is not aimed at teaching you the complexities of borrowing from your broker. Instead, the aim herein is to teach aspiring traders when using leverage is appropriate. The Dangers of Leverage For traders who do not have excellent risk management, leverage is a highly dangerous tool that can lead to outsized losses. While brokers will only allow you to draw down a certain amount before you receive a margin call—a demand from the broker to add more capital or liquidate positions to increase free capital—such losses can still devastate most traders. Furthermore, many online influencers present unrealistic results by using extremely high amounts of leverage and then showcasing these results as easily obtainable for the average person, often without presenting the potential dangers of trying to mirror their exploits. The Complexities of Leverage The benefits of using leverage seem obvious. If you can borrow money for a trade you can potentially earn much higher percentages on your capital. If you have a $25,000 account and can borrow an additional $25,000 for a trade, you can conceivably earn twice as much profit on each trade. But let’s pump the brakes for a second. If a broker allows you to double (or more) your capital for a trade, does that mean it’s a good idea? After all, if you can double your gains, you can certainly double your losses. If a trader is using twice as much capital without thinking about how much they are risking the situation can get out of hand quickly. If a trader seeks to risk $500 on a particular trade, but they don’t properly calculate their position size based on the total leveraged capital, the trader can lose $1,000 instead of $500 with the same stop loss location. To make matters worse, the $1,000 loss is a much bigger blow to their $25,000 trading account than to a $50,000 account. The trader’s account is now $24,000, meaning they will only have access to $48,000 for their next trade. If this same process occurs a few times in a row it becomes much harder to gain back the lost capital. When To Use Leverage Trading with huge amounts of leverage, say 50x or more, and attempting to hit home run trades will almost always result in a devastating loss for new and struggling traders. For the average technical retail trader, leverage should only be used in a particular circumstance, and when done correctly, it can certainly help the trader rapidly increase their capital. When you have proper risk management and use a predefined risk on each trade, such as risking 2% of your account, leverage can play an important role. For instance, if your trading methodology places a stop loss in close proximity to your entry it’s very possible that your account capital cannot purchase enough shares to risk the desired amount. To illustrate this concept, let’s look at a basic example: Say you have a $25,000 trading account You risk 2% of your account on each trade for a dollar risk of $500 You take a trade where the stop loss is $2 below your entry (Risk per share) and the stock is $195 per share To risk the desired $500 you need to purchase 250 shares (Dollar risk / Risk per share) BUT... 250 shares would cost you $48,750, an amount that clearly exceeds your account size! This means you cannot afford to risk $500 on the trade. Without leverage you could only purchase a grand total of 128 shares. This is the only time it is appropriate to go all in on a trade—when you are able to go all in and still maintain a controlled risk parameter. Unfortunately, when you can’t afford to risk your desired amount, your entire profit taking routine is thrown out of whack. Let’s assume your profit taking regime states that you sell when you’ve gained twice your risk. Normally, you would sell the position when you are up $4 per share (twice the risk per share). Yet, because you could only afford to purchase 128 shares (not the required 250), a $4 gain per share will only produce a profit of $512—an amount that only gives you a 1:1 risk to reward ratio on this trade. In order to achieve your 2:1 risk to reward ratio you would have to gain $7.80 per share—nearly double the profit target. It’s by no means a guarantee that the trade will hit your increased profit target, and if you sell before this point you are altering your usual risk to reward scheme. Changing your profit taking regime or your risk to reward plan has a negative effect on your bottom line when looked at over a large sample size of trades. Leverage solves this problem. If you were able to use 2x leverage, you could suddenly afford the required 250 shares, and you could keep your usual profit taking routine intact. In short, leverage is a tool that allows you to maintain a consistent risk per trade even when your stop loss is so close to your entry that you cannot afford the required amount of shares. Special Considerations Keep in mind, leverage can still cause you to lose more than you are comfortable with when trading stocks. If you’re using twice the value of your account and you get caught in a gap down where price skips your stop loss location you can take an extra large loss. This is an important thing to consider, and is one reason some people only use leverage when they trade large ETFs such as QQQ, or when they trade a market that trades 23 hours per day, such as futures. These ETFs do not experience extra large gap downs because they are less volatile, and futures hardly have any gaps. Gaps on big diversified ETFs are almost always easier to recover from than a huge gap down on some other stock. For example, say you’re in a 2x leveraged position attempting to risk 2% of your account, but you get caught in a gap down on QQQ when price opens 1% below your stop loss level. In this case, you would lose 4% of your account. While this is certainly not ideal, it is completely possible to recover from this larger than expected loss. If you get caught in a 20% gap down on NFLX or a 10% gap down on TSLA while using 2x leverage your account will be devastated. For this reason, we only consider using leverage on large diversified ETFs or futures, even when we are using the methods covered in this article. In the data section below this post you can observe what a small amount of leverage (2x) can achieve. Without this small boost in capital, the gains are 69%, and while nothing to scoff at, the 2x leverage makes all the difference. These additional gains use the exact same risk parameter and we did not expose ourselves to any additional or undue risk.
NASDAQ:QQQEducation
by Level8Trading
5 BIG MISTAKES TRADERS MAKE!Hey traders, I've had the privilege to have been involved in trading, both retail trading and working within a prop firm for many years. The biggest benefit I get, is to work with so many different traders with so many different strategies, personalities, timeframes, assets, you name it. I've probably worked with a trader that trades it. Now, there's a few things that are extremely common in all traders, regardless of what or how they are trading. It's the same mistakes that keep making traders fail. So today, I'm going to explain what five of these mistakes are and how to avoid them. I will also discuss how to incorporate them to ensure that you don't get hit by the stone wall that many traders do. If you have any extra information to add, please do so in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you all. TRADING WITHOUT A PLAN This right here is the biggest one and this is usually for the early beginners or even strategy jumpers. You must have a plan. That is non negotiable if you ever want to see some kind of consistency in training. I can tell you from experience, both personally and with working with traders from firms, that the more in depth that plan is, the better chance of success. The same way you create a business plan before launching a new endeavor. The same way you create a game plan for your team before you go out and verse the opponent. The same way politicians plan out their PR campaigns before running for office. You must have a thorough trading plan. A plan can consist of a multitude of different things, from understanding what you're willing to lose, understanding overall position size, understanding your trading strategy, minimizing drawdowns, maximizing profits, the assets you are trading, the times you're going to be trading, how much time you actually going to be allocating to trading and setting up goals. A trading plan must be thorough, so you can not only track your progress, but when you start getting unmotivated or confused, you have something to look back on to realign you with where you are and where you want to be. My final advice with your trading plan is stick to it. You will have bad trading days. You will have bad trading weeks. You will have bad trading months. Stick to your plan. OVERTRADING We've all been there. It's the start of a trading session. We've opened two positions. They've both gone on to be fantastic winners. You're unstoppable. Nothing can possibly go wrong from this point. You have mastered the markets. You are the best trader the world has ever seen. So what do you do? You open another seven positions because it's just free money on the table. And what happens? All seven of those positions lose, wiping off your original profit and some. This is so common in beginner traders. It's that aspect of unpredictability that they forget about in the markets. Trading too much too soon is a serious issue and it needs to be worked on as soon as possible. I understand the excitement of being live in the markets, the excitement of the profits you could earn day today, but the reality of the situation is if your brand new. Trading too much is going to be a serious issue. What sitting back watching and not trading does is not only increases your patience, but also allows you to analyze the markets in a clearer state of mind, making your future decisions a whole level ahead. Add that into the plan, give yourself a maximum number of positions per day if you are new. Trust me, it's going to help you progress. FAILING TO CUT LOSSES I've spoken about this a lot, especially in one of my recent webinars. A lot of traders are taught the whole set an forget method, and I'm not a big fan of it, but in some circumstances I won't lie. Yes, it does work. But a lot of the time, these trade ideas that they're in there actually give massive warning signals prior to hitting the stop loss that they are going to do that. The trader could have cut those losses a lot shorter. Now don't even get me started on traders that don't use a stop loss. What I wanted to do really in this segment is dive into the emotional side of failing to cut a loss. It's true. I remember experiencing it early on my trading career, that feeling of when a trades going against you, but you did all the analysis, so it shouldn't be going against you. So what do you do? You hold on with hope and temptation that it will turn for the better. The reality of the situation is in very, very rarely does. It's a horrible feeling because some traders are prone to even giving those trades more room, adding to the position, moving there stop loss, removing their stop loss altogether. Everything you shouldn't be doing in the time that your analysis is going against you, most traders lean towards because they done all the research they needed to do and they cannot comprehend bring wrong. The best way to battle this feeling, if you've ever felt it or still to this day feel that urge, is going back to number one. Trading with a plan. Have a plan. Risk management plans are the greatest things ever. We can plan for the absolute worst so when it does come in and everyone's going manic everywhere, we know exactly what to do, where to be and how to position ourselves. This will help you learn to cut those losses. NOT UNDERSTANDING LEVERAGE The world changed times are changing. You can access any type of information or access pretty much any type of market you want at the click of a button by the glorious internet. Same goes with trading is probably how most of you have gotten here, or even just into trading as a whole. The thing is, we reach out to these brokers and we open accounts with small amounts of money and they offer us great deals like 300 hundred or even 500 to 1 leverage. That means with $1000 account, you can open $500,000 of currency. Now, the reality of the situation is most traders will never use all of that leverage. But as a result is that most trade is also wouldn't have experienced a no money call when opening a position, or perhaps a margin call, or a true understanding of when they put in 0.5 lots of EURUSD, what they are actually doing. Leverage is a great tool. Fantastic tool. When used correctly. Working at the firm, had so many traders reach out. They keep getting an error code. They say, "I can't open this position!? WHY!?!" and it's all because they don't have the margin requirements to actually open that position and it is alarming to see how many traders don't fully understand what leverages and margin is considering they have used it for years. When you open a position of 0.5 lots on a U.S. dollar currency pair, for example, UUSDJPY. You are opening a position size of $50,000. You have just entered a $50,000 position. That means you are actively managing $50,000 while you are in that position. Let that sink in. Now that's just a position of 0.5 lots. There is traders pit there trading 10-100 lots and it is just baffling to understand the amount of risk there actually taking in accordance to their account size. Do your research. Understand your position size and when you're doing your trading journal. Instead of doing lot sizes in your trading journal, I recommend you do actual position size, value. That will give you a much better understanding on the risk you undertake when you take positions and also if you can, lower your leverage. You don't need 500:1. BEING ABLE TO ACCEPT LOSSES Now this is a fun one and this is what I really wanted to chat about. Being able to accept losses can be one of the most damaging things a beginner trader can ever have, because what happens is they lose the value and respect that the market can take their money. Every market "guru" and every trading course out there tells you to remove emotion from the equation, accept that losses are gonna be a thing, and trade knowing that. Now most people go, "OK, let's do that." and surprisingly, they actually managed to pull it off. Which actually creates a bigger problem. They become reckless. They no longer care if there's a little bit of parameters different from their trading plan. They no longer care if there's key indicators that the trade idea is wrong because, "we're going to have losses. So what? This one might as well be one. If you're not in the market, you're not going to make money." they become reckless. Do not remove emotion from your trading. Incorporate emotion into your trading and once again this results back to the first tip. Trade. With. A. Plan. Traders, that is all for me today. These are five things that I've noticed in struggling traders which seemed to be a common recurrence. Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy the read. As always, have a fantastic trading week. -Jordon Mellor
Education
by the5erstrading
14
How much leverage should I be using?Understanding how to trade forex requires detailed knowledge about economies, political situations, all the individual countries, global macroeconomics, the impact of volatility, it goes on and on. But the reality of the situation is this isn't what makes most new traders fail. What makes most traders fail isn't the lack of knowledge or understanding of what it is they're actually trading. It's the lack of knowledge and understanding on leverage. As most of us would have heard, there is very obvious statistic out there that majority of retail traders fail. Now, most people will see this as a lack of competence and just purely not willing to put in the effort to be successful. But a lot of the time it is people not understanding the risk their undertaking and what it is they're actually doing with their money when they enter the market. It really highlights this when traders come to a firm like ours, and question leverage or they have so many questions about leverage that even though they've been trading for three to four years, they still don't fully understand the actual risks that are at hand when they are opening certain positions that they really can't afford to open. Today I wanted to jump into leverage. Let's really dive into depth what it is, why we have it, how we can use it. Then, finally touch on what is the right amount of leverage for you as a trader. So you can be exponential in maximizing your profits, but also ensuring that you're not damaging yourself long term. LEVERAGE RISK Firstly, I think it's important for us to have a look into leverage. Leverage is the process in which an investor or trader borrows capital in order to invest or purchase something. Typically we borrow capital from a broker and we buy into positions with money that we didn't have in order to be able to gain more profit from those positions. Most traders are blindsided and constantly think the more money I have, the more profit I can make, which is true, but they fail to recognize that the more risk it carries. Carrying higher leverage is an exponential increase in risk. Most brokers out there will probably offer you something like 50:1, 100:1 or even 500:1 leverage. This giving you a buying power of 50, 100 or even 500 times whatever the amount of money you have in your account. Which means a trader with just $100 in a brokerage account could open a position with $50,000 in the market. Now, while that may sound advertising, believe me, that's a trap and we're going to chat about that today. HIGH LEVERAGE EXAMPLE So let's dive into an example. Let's imagine we have a trader who has a $10,000 account. They decide to use 100:1 leverage, which now means with that $10,000 cash, they can trade up to $1,000,000 in the forex market. Let's assume that the trader opened a position with the full available capital which would relate to 10 lots, and they opened the position on a currency with the USD being the quote currency. That means that each PIP movement is equal to $100. So for a simple equation, if they were to enter a trade and that trade went against them by 50 pips, they would have lost 50% of their account because that 50 pips would have been equal to $5000. So in one wrong trade they lost 50% of their account. So many people in this industry is so quick to look at what the realized gains could be, but they rather tend to ignore the actual risks that come with that. If you don't have sufficient evidence that your investment strategy is going to provide consistent and stable gains long term, do not look to trade with higher leverage, as you will be gambling and it is extremely risky. LOW LEVERAGE EXAMPLE Now let's use the same example, but in a lower leverage situation. The trader has $10,000 cash only this time he is trading on an account with 5:1 leverage, resulting in a buying power of $50,000. This means on a pair with the US dollar as the base currency that you can open a maximum size of 0.5 lots. Let's go ahead and take the exact same trade, only this time with a 0.5 lots, each pip is equal to $5. Should the investment or trade fall the same 50 pips this time the trader will only lose $250, which is a mere 2.5%. Same trade, different leverage, one lost 50% the other lost 2.5%. It is a common trick out there that traders feel they require more leverage to really make money in the market. It's not true. Yes, it can help you get more profits from those smaller moves. Yes, it is really beneficial if you have a proven strategy. If you are still coming to grips with trading or you're fairly new and you haven't achieved consistency and profitability yet, focus on lower leverage. What it will actually do is make you focus on long term goals. Focus on the process this giving you more sustainability in the market and therefore more maturity. CHOOSE THE RIGHT LEVERAGE Choosing the right leverage is a very important step in Forex trading. You can be tapered in by fancy numbers and big brokers trying to get you in, Or, you can realistically dive into what it is you actually need and what's going to benefit you more in the future. There's no right answer to how much leverage you need each strategy in each individual require different things, but what I will do is share some tips and some knowledge on how to choose the right one that benefits you. 1. Always try and maintain the lowest leverage you possibly can for your strategy. If you manage to pull it right the way into where you can only just open the positions on the risk you have allowed yourself, and you can't open more than, lets say three positions, what you actually do is limit yourself to focus on only the good positions. You've prevented over trading from occurring and you can really focus on your risk management. 2. When you open positions or you talk about opening positions instead of going to people saying, "yes, I opened 0.35 lots." Use the actual dollar value when you open a 0.35 lot position. Instead, say "I opened a $35,000 position." Talking in that language that you have placed your bets with $100,000 or $1,000,000 will make you realize how much risk you're actually exposing yourself to and the capacity of what it is you are trading. 3. Limit your overall risk, at absolute Max, I risk 0.25%. This allows me to go into large drawdowns and it not be an issue. I can still manage it accordingly in it actually keeps me nice and calm and focused on the analysis rather than the running profit and loss. The bottom line is selecting the right Forex leverage depends on the traders experienced risk tolerance and comfort when operating in the market. You want to ensure that it's not out there to harm you, but rather it's there to help. You do not want be trying to get really high leverage so you can make large profits, when you know realistically, there is no evidence to prove that you will make those high profits. Start small, gain consistency, gain exposure and gain experience, and then you can start looking to expand your equity and buying power.
Editors' picks
FOREXCOM:XAUUSDEducation
by the5erstrading
42
Some ideas on How We Trade (Spot and Leverage)Hi everyone, let's try something new for you tonight: I made this video to share with you how we day-trade. It's a video so you watch it and let us know your thoughts. If you like it or find it useful we can make more videos like this. The market has been a disaster for many: It has happened before and it will happen again. Just remember to go back and look at how we dealt with it (we hedged enough and we are still 'alive). I really liked what my good friend Irina said today : 'I think we all learn some lessons these days. That’s what bear markets are for. Learning lessons.'' Her hair is painted red-ish. She promised to paint them Green on Monday so we remain friends (true story, yes). Watch the video, it could help you see a different way of doing things. Remember: Trading is RISKY and is not recommended for anyone! DYOR and LEARN from everything that happens. one Love, the FXPROFESSOR
Education
by FX_Professor
2
Why did I fail?How many traders do you think ask this question to themselves? Well, if we dig deeper into statistics, we’ll see that #1 reason differentiating successful traders from the rest 90%+ is proper use of margin and leverage. For every $50,000 in their account, most experienced forex traders and money managers trade one standard lot. If they traded a mini account, this indicates that for every $5,000 in their account, they trade one mini lot. Allow it to soak in for a couple of moments. Why do less experienced forex traders believe they can win by trading 100K standard lots with a $2,000 account or 10K micro lots with $250 if professionals trade like this? Never open a "regular account" with only $2,000 or a "micro account" with $250, no matter what the forex brokers tell you. Some even enable you to start an account for as little as $25! The number one reason rookie traders fail is because they are undercapitalized from the start and have a poor understanding of how leverage works. However, this all also goes back to our previous lessons on figuring out what type of trader you are. For instance, we’re slightly more aggressive (and as our SL are usually extremely tight), we stick with 1% (which still allows us to open 2 lots for 50.000$). However, if you have hard time monitoring the trade or prefer to have more “breathing room” for a trade, consider 1 lot for 100.000$ of your trading capital. All the best and stay safe, fam!
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by Investroy
6
Futures Trading & Terminology ExplainedTrading futures is not for beginners and should only be attempted by experienced traders with a strong understanding of the market as a whole and especially a strong understanding of Risk Management & Trading Psychology. Below I have explained some of the Risks involved in Trading Futures: ------------------------- Liquidation When liquidation occurs your position is forcibly closed due to not having sufficient balance to keep your borrowed positions afloat. When trading futures on high leverage, your losses can quickly reach double digit percentages and if they exceed the remaining balance in your account you can be liquidated. ------------------------- Leverage Leverage, or to be leverage refers to the act of borrowing money off the exchange to trade. When a trader has insufficient balances to cover their leveraged position left in the account a liquidation call can occur. Keep track of your margin ratio and keep it low to prevent liquidations, and use risk management techniques. ------------------------- Volatility Market volatility can be high in emerging markets, and many traders love volatility for its big swings to profit, but in futures trading considering losses are potentially heightened by leverage volatility can become a dangerous thing to a trader. In volatile markets market stop losses can often trigger much further than the triggered price adding to losses, or even resulting in liquidation. ------------------------- Stop Hunting Stop hunting occurs when large entities such as corporations, or “Whales” purposefully target the stop loss orders of traders, knowing that at these areas when a large amount of orders is triggered a contrarian position can be acquired by these entities by buying or selling into a large stop trigger event, by doing this they can easily buy or sell a large amount of an asset when also having very little affect on the price in the short term. ------------------------- Exchange Downtime During extreme market movements sometimes exchanges can crash and traders are unable to login, close or open positions on the exchange, Liquidation events, Market Crashes, Manipulation, Volatility, Stop Hunting may all come into play when Exchange Downtime occurs and it is a risky endeavor to be positioned in borrowed money when a exchange is offline. ------------------------- Market Crashes Market Crashes, Black Swan Events etc. can occur frequently in emerging markets, infrequently in traditional markets. During Market Crashes huge cascades of liquidations can occur taking out over leveraged long traders. ------------------------- Manipulation Stop Hunting is also a form of Market Manipulation. Sometimes vested interests work together to hold down the price of an asset or push up the price to trigger orders, and shake out retail players. ------------------------- Overtrading Due to the heightened losses applicable from borrowed money, overtrading on futures/leverage can quickly wipe out your balance, it is key that you understand how to size your trades correctly as well as managing your risk and mental state to avoid this occurring.
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by Worth_The_Ri5k
Lesson 2 II What is The Levreage ?Leverage is a tool provided to you by the forex company or your trading company, and this tool inflates your capital so that you can deal in the forex market In other words, if the leverage is 1:10, then every $1 in your account equals $10 in buying value in the forex market. And if the leverage is 1:500, that means that every $1 in your account equals $500 purchasing power in the forex market. Therefore, you can start in the forex market with a small capital, starting from $50, with a leverage of 1:500, which gives you purchasing power as if your capital is equal to $25,000.
Education
by Fx_Vanguard
What Is Capital Partitioning ? How will it help you as a trader?Hi everyone: Let's talk about capital partitioning, which is a risk management approach for consistent traders to utilize to allow them to leverage their capital. You may ask what exactly is capital partitioning ? well to simply put it in words, it is basically divide up your trading $ in the current trading account into 2 or more sub accounts. So what's the point of doing that you may ask ? Well, with leverage, a consistent trader does not require to have their entire money deposit into one trading account. They can allocate the asset into different trading accounts to reduce risk as well as trading different markets available Let's take a look here: Say I have a $100,000 trading capital. I understand risk management, trading psychology, and will not over trade, over risk and revenge trade. Hence, it's in my best interest to divide the $ in this account into a different accounts, or simply in a liquid-able account such as a savings account, stocks, bond..etc Here are a few scenarios that you can implement into your trading accounts. Understand that the % to allocate, what other trading accounts to deposit $ into, and how to move around the $ is totally up to you as a trader. The most important is to make sure you are a consistent trader before you approach this type of method. As more accounts you divide your capital into, the more % you will need to risk per account as you need to open bigger position sizes now. Any questions, comments, or feedback welcome to let me know. Thank you I will share other risk management educational videos that can be helpful for you. Risk Management: When/How to move SL to BE and to profit in a running trade ? Risk Management: How to filter trading opportunities if multiple setups are presenting entries: Risk Management: 3 different entries on how to enter the impulsive phrase of price action Risk Management 101 Risk Management: How to set a Take Profit (TP) for your trades Risk Management: How to Enter and set SL and TP for an impulse move in the market Risk Management: How to scale in the impulsive phrase of the market condition? Risk Management: Combine everything you learn to prevent blowing a trading account
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by jojofang0901
28
📚 Leveraged & Margin Trading Guide + Examples ⚖️ Leveraged trading allows even small retail traders to make money trading different financial markets. With a borrowed capital from your broker, you can empower your trading positions. The broker gives you a multiplier x10, x50, x100 (or other) referring to the number of times your trading positions are enhanced. Brokers offer leverage at a cost based on the amount of borrowed funds you’re using and they charge you per each day that you maintain a leveraged position open. For example, let's take EURUSD pair. Let's buy Euro against the Dollar with the hope that the exchange rate will rise. Buying that on spot with 1.195 ask price and selling that on 1.23 price we can make a profit by selling the same amount of EURUSD back to the broker. With x50 leverage, our return will be 50 times scaled. With the leverage, we can benefit even on small price fluctuations not having a huge margin. ❗️Remember that leverage will also multiply the potential downside risk in case if the trade does not play out. In case of a bearish continuation on EURUSD, the leveraged loss will be paid from our margin to the broker. For that reason, it is so important to set a stop loss and calculate the risks before the trading position is opened. ❤️Please, support this idea with a like and comment!❤️
Editors' picks
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
26
📚 Leveraged & Margin Trading Guide + Examples ⚖️ Leveraged trading allows even small retail traders to make money trading different financial markets. With a borrowed capital from your broker, you can empower your trading positions. The broker gives you a multiplier x10, x50, x100 (or other) referring to the number of times your trading positions are enhanced. Brokers offer leverage at a cost based on the amount of borrowed funds you’re using and they charge you per each day that you maintain a leveraged position open. For example, let's take EURUSD pair. Let's buy Euro against the Dollar with the hope that the exchange rate will rise . Buying that on spot with 1.195 ask price and selling that on 1.23 price we can make a profit by selling the same amount of EURUSD back to the broker. With x50 leverage , our return will be 50 times scaled . With the leverage, we can benefit even on small price fluctuations not having a huge margin. ❗️Remember that leverage will also multiply the potential downside risk in case if the trade does not play out. In case of a bearish continuation on EURUSD, the leveraged loss will be paid from our margin to the broker. For that reason, it is so important to set a stop loss and calculate the risks before the trading position is opened. ❤️Please, support this idea with a like and comment!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
14
Statistical approach to risk management - Python scriptThis script can be used to approximate a strategy, and find optimal leverage. The output will consist of two columns, one for the median account size at end of trading, and one for the share of accounts liquidated. The script assumes a 100% position size for the account. This does not take into account size deviations for earnings and losses, so use with a grain of salt if your positions vary greatly in that aspect. Code preview cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/592684708551327764/848701541766529034/carbon.png TradingView does not allow posting external links until you've reached a specific reputation, so i can't use the url feature Input explanation WINRATE : chance of winning trade AVGWIN : average earning per winning trade AVGLOSS : average loss per losing trade MAX_LEVERAGE : maximum leverage available to you TRADES : how many trades per account you want to simulate ACCOUNTS : how many accounts you want to simulate the inputs used in the source code are from one of my older strategies, change them to suit your algorithm Source code pastebin.com/69EKdVFC Good luck, Have fun -Vin
VEducation
by Vindruee